This invention relates to a vegetable cutting machine for cutting elongate vegetables and, more particularly, to a broccoli quartering machine.
It is frequently desirable that certain vegetables, such as broccoli, be cut and quartered lengthwise for freezing or other packaging. The cutting and quartering of broccoli has been accomplished by hand in the past. Such manual operation is obviously a laborious and tedious task requiring considerable manpower.
Several attempts have been made to mechanize this cutting and quartering operation. However, such prior broccoli cutting and quartering machines have suffered from one or more disadvantages. For example, some of the prior machines produced inconsistent cuts of broccoli and resulted in high waste because they required broccoli spears of uniform length for accomodation with the gripping and feeding devices of the machines. Moreover, difficulty in feeding the prior machines was frequently experienced because the broccoli frequently had to be positioned in clamps or other holding devices. Some of the other disadvantages of the prior machines were slow speed operation, creation of excess fines due to excessive handling or pressing of the broccoli during quartering, intermittent motion, removal of too much stem material, and incomplete cutting of the stems.
The broccoli quartering machine constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention may be easily fed by any operator or may be adapted to mechanized feeding. The broccoli quartering machine constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention readily accepts random length broccoli spears, precisely quarters the spears, and automatically cuts the quartered spears to a uniform length. In the broccoli quartering machine constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, the broccoli cuts are consistent and the stem is completely cut, and broccoli spears of random lengths may be easily and readily accomodated in the machine. The broccoli quartering machine of the present invention is capable of operation at high, continuous and uniform speeds and forces, particularly on the broccoli blossoms, are minimized thereby reducing the production of excess fines.
In a principal aspect of the present invention, a vegetable cutting machine for cutting elongate vegetables includes cutting means, vegetable holding means for holding the vegetable as the vegetable is being cut by the cutting means which includes substantially cup-shaped means through which the cutting means passes to cut the vegetables, and conveyor means for moving the holding means and cutting means relative to each other.
In another principal aspect of the present invention, first and second cutting means are present and the vegetable holding means comprises a resilient, substantially conical cup-shaped member, open at its apex, and at least two pairs of slots, one pair of which is adapted to receive the first cutting means, and the other pair of which receives the second cutting means after the cup-shaped member is rotated approximately 90.degree. after the first cut, but before the second cut.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.